Alyosha by Joshua Powell
Indianapolis-based folk collective Joshua Powell & the Great Train Robbery released Alyosha, their third full-length record in October 2015. It was produced by Jonathan Class at Varsity Recording Co. in Anderson, IN, and encapsulates the group’s tonal shift, from the rustic Appalachian Americana of Man Is Born for Trouble, to a new, psychedelically-tinged, deeply textural electric brand of avant-garde folk.
After playing 400+ shows across 40+ states, Powell had plenty of experiences to funnel into the creative process of making Alyosha. Abandoning the traditional folk trappings of the band’s previous material, he sought to put aside the fans’ expectations in favor of making the record he wanted to hear. This was expressed through experimentation with electric guitars, effect chains, and keyboard sounds, but also in Powell’s vocal delivery, which is at its most unaffected and lucid. The lyrics, as ever, are central to the work and cover a variety of themes: from controversial drone politics and Hoosier post-industrialism, to Aesopian fables and witch trials. Eleven Magazine praises its “allegorical heft” and “beautiful bleakness.”
Tracklist
| 1. | Gunfighter Ballad for the 21st Century | 4:09 |
| 2. | Petrichor | 5:04 |
| 3. | Cave of Clouds | 3:43 |
| 4. | The Farmer and the Viper | 4:04 |
| 5. | Indiana | 7:18 |
| 6. | Birth Control | 5:00 |
| 7. | Decalogue | 3:29 |
| 8. | Telekinesis | 3:50 |
| 9. | Ernest Hemingway | 4:51 |
| 10. | Left the Academy | 2:59 |
Credits
All songs written and recorded by Joshua Powell
Joshua Powell - guitars, vocals
Jacob Powell - drums
Jonathan Class - keyboards and auxiliary
additional guitars performed by Jason Barrows
horns by Luke Stafford and CJ Lukas
Produced by Jonathan Class at Varsity Recording Co. in Anderson, IN
Engineering by Alex Dobbert
License
All rights reserved.
Joshua Powell is the exhausted wizard at the helm of IN's most haunted rock band. From his hardcore roots in the Floridian swamps and beyond the fever dream of his folk era, his literary lyrics dig for enlightenment in a surrealist muck. “Four LP's and over 900 shows later, the midwestern road dog's ever- evolving, transcendent style embraces hallucinatory metal and grimy psychedelia.” -Audiotree